Ad Meliora
by flamingfighter
Summary: Shortly after the events in Unova, war ravaged the regions, forever changing the landscape and its inhabitants. Hundreds of years later, it seems peace and equality between people and Pokemon is almost at hand. Pokemon Training is illegal unless you posses the power to speak to them. However, this peace is threatened once again as two factions threaten to tear the world apart.


**Chapter One: Towards the Future**

"It stings…"

"Huh?" The small Salamander Pokemon looked lazily up at the black-haired youth sitting in the chair next to him. A pair of glasses hung loosely over his eyes, barely kept in place by a rather unremarkable nose. He was wearing a black button up short-sleeved shirt and a pair of frayed denim blue jeans. On his feet was a pair of worn brown boots.

"The scar," The teenager said.

"What about it?" his Pokemon companion asked.

"The salty air makes it sting a bit."

"Oh," the Pokemon yawned and the flame at the end of its tail sparked a bit. "Is there anything that can be done about it?"

"Probably."

"And?"

"I don't want to bug anyone about it." The boy said, placing one arm over his eyes to protect them from the sunlight as he leaned back in the seat.

"You bugged me about it," The Charmander said, curling up again to return to his nap.

"Sorry about that, the boy said, chuckling. "Just felt like letting you know, Hellfyre."

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Dave," The Charmander said sarcastically.

"My bad," There was a lull of silence and the cries of Wingull could be heard as they soared overhead. "We'll be there by lunch."

"Then you can buy us some food,"

"Let's not try to get anything too expensive," The youth said, smiling slightly.

"There's enough for both of us to eat well, isn't there?" Hellfyre said, rolling over lazily to look at the one he called 'Dave'.

_Isn't there enough for me, too?_

_ No, there is never enough for rotten bastards like you, you can go hungry for all I care you rotten shit!_

"Dave?" The Charmander sat up from its napping position with a look of concern.

"Uh… yeah, maybe… I think so," Dave said, stumbling over the words a bit. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them.

"Sorry," Hellfyre said meekly. "Sometimes I just forget what it was like since I wasn't there as long as you we-"

"It's fine Hellfyre," Dave said, sitting up as well, "We're free. That's all that matters, right? We're fine now."

"Y-Yeah, you're right," Hellfyre said, eyes glowing. "We'll be okay now. This is a new start for both of us." A loud horn suddenly blared, jolting both of the two friends completely awake.

_"We are now arriving at Diluculum city,"_ an automated female voice said over the cruise ship's speakers. _"Please ensure that you have all of your belongings before exiting the ship. The Inter-Regional Unity Cruise Liner and its parent corporation is not responsible for any belongings left on the ship after your departure. Please wait for the boat to come to a halt and for the connecting bridge to be fully extended before attempting to leave the ship. Please refrain from pushing or jostling other passengers while traversing the docking bridge. Thank you for choosing the Inter-Regional Unity Cruise Liner for your travels. Please refer to the Inter-Regional Unity Corporation for future needs that you may have in the Draem Region. 'Welcome to a future of unified culture.'_

"Do you have the stuff?" Hellfyre asked Dave.

"I only have the wallet and the backpack with a change of clothes," Dave said, lifting the backpack up to where Hellfyre could see.

"It isn't a lot, is it?" Hellfyre said, letting out a small sigh.

"We still have plenty of money. It should be enough to get by for a good while." Dave reassured his partner.

"If you say so, I don't understand the way your human money works all the way." Hellfyre scratched behind his head.

"Well, you keep me around for some reason, right?"

"I guess I do," Hellfyre responded cheerfully. "Let's go watch the city get closer from the side of the ship."

"Sure thing," Dave said, lifting his backpack onto his shoulders. Hellfyre hopped up, latching his claws into the backpack fabric and climbing up to a comfortable position where he could look over Dave's shoulder. Dave approached the stern of the cruise liner and saw the buildings of Diluculum city. "We're free," he whispered.

_Then… what is this feeling?_

(Perspective changes here.)

The ringing startled him awake. He sat up straight and instinctively started fumbling for his cell phone. He flipped the silver mobile open and answered the call, pulling out the ear buds of his music player that were in his ears.

"Hello?" he asked.

'Hey, it's me," a husky voice said.

"Uncle! I'm doing fine. The train will be pulling up to Diluculum City soon." The silver-haired with a mild bowl cut boy said. "I should be there in about half an hour."

"You're sure about this, right?" the voice asked. The young man chuckled.

"You're the one who encouraged me to do this, Uncle" There was laughter on the other end.

"Yeah, I know. Just need to make sure you're determined. Seta, just do your best. I don't want to hear any stories about you collapsing out there." The tone of the other man turned serious.

"Uncle, I'll be ok, don't worry."

"Hey, I'm a father. It's natural for me to worry about my children."

"Thank you, Uncle."

"You're ready, right?" The man asked.

"Yeah, all my stuff is here." Seta said, tugging at the front of his white collared shirt before straightening a crease in his brown jeans. On the other end of the line, a small voice could be heard and there was the sound of the phone being given to someone else.

"Big Bro… I already miss you." Said a young girl's voice that seemed like it was about to burst into sobs at any second. "I wish you were back. What if more bad men come? Who's going to make the omelets? "

"It's okay, Mina, I'll make breakfast," Seta's Uncle said in the background.

"And dad can't cook," Mina said. Seta chuckled, trying to think of something to cheer the girl up.

"It's okay Mina, I'm going on an adventure." Mina may have been his cousin, but to Seta she was more like a little sister.

"But what about the bad men! I don't want you to go!" she screamed and Seta could tell that she was crying.

"Mina…" Seta said soothingly. "You don't need to worry about the bad men anymore. They're too scared to come there anymore."

"Really?" The small girl sobbed.

"Really, and don't worry. I'll bring back a lot of souvenirs for you and you'll get to meet the partners I make in my journey."

"Really!? I've always wanted to meet a Pokemon for real!" Mina said excitedly, sadness all but completely forgotten.

"Yep, that's right, but you have to be a big girl and wait for us to return, ok?" Seta asked.

"Ok, but you have to promise!" Mina said.

"It's a promise," Seta said, smiling. "It's still early there, so you should get back to bed."

"Ok, Big Bro. Just remember, you promised." The phone was given back to Seta's Uncle.

"You're great with her, and with work dying down I'll be able to spend some time with her while you're gone." He said.

"I'm happy to hear that, Uncle," Seta said. "I'm really going to miss her, you know. Innocence like hers is rare these days." He and his Uncle continued to talk about Seta's journey to come. Concern was etched into his Uncle's voice. Seta knew that his Uncle wanted to see a change in him and he knew that a journey would be the best way for the young man to mature. "I have to go now Uncle, the train will be arriving in a few minutes." He put on his pair of grey trimmed glasses.

"Yeah… Good luck Seta, make me proud."

"I will, Uncle." Seta flipped his phone closed and returned it to his pocket. He noticed that his mp3 player was still running. The lyrics _"Burn my dread…"_ could be faintly heard. He turned the device off and returned it to his pocket where he kept his phone.

"_Thank you for riding the Inter-Regional Train"_ an automated male voice said. _"Please ensure that you have all of your belongings before you depart from the train. Remember that-_ Seta gathered his things together; putting on the black blazer he had grown fond of wearing over the past several months. The change of clothes and granola bars went into his grey backpack. He stepped up next to the train door, holding onto a support pole to steady himself. _"Welcome to a future of unified culture!"_

_If my resolve is strong enough._ He thought to himself. _Then I can and WILL become the Champion._ The train came to a halt. After several seconds the door slid open and Seta took the first step of his journey.

(Perspective Changes Here.)

Eva was awoken by the light pouring in from the window in the room. She sat up and stretched her arms over her head, yawning. She threw the curtains of the window open all the way, she let the morning light flood the interior of the hotel room, which was pretty simple. White walls, red carpet. A desk and a chair next to the TV which was placed near the end of the bed pretty much summed up the room.

She took a shower in the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror after she had finished dressing herself. Wearing on her short tank top and blue denim shorts, she seems overly plain, except for her purple hair hanging down around her shoulders. She noticed her eyes seemed to be a very light gray in the light. She took out a pair of green colored contacts and paced them carefully in her eyes, blinking a few times after she had finished. Her eyes appeared to be naturally green and she sighed in relief. They sometimes didn't go on that well.

Bunching up her hair, she wound the purple locks into a simple, yet effective ponytail, using a small almost invisible purple hair band. She dabbed on some sparse makeup. She wouldn't be able to do this while traveling, but she wanted to look nice when she met the professor and her first partner. She switched the bathroom light off and went back into the main room to begin gathering her things.

After the few supplies she had already brought with her were packed into her green backpack, she hastily threw on her white jacket with green sleeves. A red heart was sewn on the left shoulder and she grasped at it briefly while putting the jacket on.

"I'll make you both proud," she whispered before leaving the room. Trotting down the stairs with her bag hoisted over her shoulder she zipped up the jacket three-quarters of the way. She checked out of her hotel and halted briefly before the door. _This is it. It's finally happening._ The doors slid open before her and she stepped out into the sunlight.

"Watch out!" Eva squinted in the sunlight and saw a man with a pile of boxes on a levitating pushcart. Eva hastily jumped forward to avoid the incoming hazard.

"Uh… sorry!" Eva called out, but she had a feeling that he didn't even hear her. _Not the best start for a journey._ She thought to herself. Already she felt a growing sense of unease as passerby shuffled along the street around her. She brushed her hand along the red heart on her jacket again for comfort. _I can do this. I have to. After all they've done for me, it's a waste to try and back out now. I can do this._ She lifted her head and took out her Town Map and pressed the location of Diluculum city on the screen, enlarging it to her location. She searched the address database and found out where the Professor Hawthorn's laboratory was. Sighing in relief, she started to weave her way through the streets towards the designated spot on her map.

As she walked, she marveled at the sights. All of the buildings appeared to be made of wood or brick, but retained a modern sheen that made everything look modern and advanced. She saw a restaurant named _Georgine's_. Looking inside as she passed, she marveled at the way humans and Pokemon were able to eat together at the tables. She remembered reading in the history books that in many cases, Pokemon ended up having to eat off of dishes on the floor while the trainers ate at the table. Looking in, she saw a black-haired teenager about her age and his Charmander eating a healthy amount from their plates.

After an hour, she finally managed to make it to the Lab's address. Sightseeing had claimed her attention and she had wandered off course, forcing a reroute to her destination. She sighed in relief, having finally made it, but she could already feel the butterflies in her stomach. She took a few tentative steps towards the door. They slid open with a loud '_fwoosh_'. She stood there for another few seconds until she nearly bolted the last several steps she needed to get inside.

The lab looked like a hospital at first glance. The room had white, clean and sterile walls with a few scattered posters about safety, health, and adventure. She saw a desk and approached it meekly. "Ummm…. H-Hello?" she said, looking around.

"Oh, you must be here to meet your partner in adventuring!" said a loud, female voice behind her. Eva was surprised she let out a scream that she had to stifle with her hand. Swerving around, the teenager observed the older woman in the buttoned lab coat. She had a long face with a nose to match. She wore glasses over her blue eyes and had her strawberry blonde hair tied into a bun. Eva was a bit shocked by how pretty she thought the Professor was, her initial idea being that of a creepy old man that couldn't tell which gender you were by looking at you.

"Uh…Y-yeah," Eva said, trying not to sound like she hadn't just nearly died of a heart attack. "I-I was thinking of starting my journey today."

"Well, if you'll just follow me, we'll take you to where potential trainers can meet potential partners. You do have the ability to speak with Pokemon, correct?"

"Y-Yeah! I do! I remember this one time a Pokemon said some things to try and comfort me when… when… uh… yeah I can." Eva could feel the despair welling up inside her. She couldn't let it through, not now.! She breathed in deeply and then forced herself to smile, thinking of all the happy memories she had with her foster family. That tactic always worked and she could feel the sadness ebbing away again."

"Are you okay?" The Professor asked, a look of concern etched onto her face.

"Yeah I'm fine!" said Eva just a little too quickly.

"O-Okay, just wanted to be sure there, Hun," The Professor said. "Follow me to the Orientation Hall." Eva followed the Professor down a hallway where she saw a bright flashing sign that said _Orientation Hall_. She noted that the flashing colors seemed a bit tacky.

Entering the room, she was immediately surprised by the way it was setup. There were assortments of patches of loose dirt in the floor, as if they had torn away specific pieces of the floor for some purpose. In addition, several trees and pools of water were randomly assorted throughout the room.

"This is the Orientation Hall, where trainers gather to meet their first partner, a young Pokemon whose parents have agreed that they should go out and see the world in order to become stronger. We have spots for Ground Pokemon, Water Pokemon, and some Pokemon that are mainly only comfortable in trees, to make sure they can all get here safely and be comfortable. We just let trainers and Pokemon go around and talk to each other and when two of them make a connection, they report to me and I help them fill out the necessary work to become partners in the League."

"T-That's awesome," said Eva, scanning the room once again. She saw all sorts of Pokemon wandering around the large and spacious room. Several trainers around her age were also chatting with Pokemon that they had met up with. _Maybe I can get one of them to be a friend of mine and we can journey together!_ Eva thought. She already saw a nice looking girl with long wavy red hair that was put up to the side. She was wearing a one-piece dress, a little odd in Eva's opinion, but the girl seemed to be really nice by the way Eva saw her ineracting with the Pokemon she was talking to.

She felt a tugging at her leg and looked down to see a Totodile grasping at her knee-high stockings. She knelt down and began to automatically speak in the language of Pokemon.

"Well… hi what's your name?" Eva asked it, not really sure if she should approach the conversation like she would with another human being or not. The totodile lifted its hands towards its mouth and made what Eva assumed was some sort of giggle before it trotted back off into the crowd. _Ok, maybe I can relate to a few of these Pokemon in some way after all._

For the next half hour, Eva talked with an assortment of different Pokemon ranging from Shinx to Weedle. She was actually surprised that she enjoyed it as much as she did. She figured that she would be uncomfortable meeting so many new faces, but something about the expressions of innocence on each Pokemon's face made her eager to talk to them.

As she was tying her shoe, she glanced up to see a Mareep looking at her with bright and eager eyes. "And what's your name? Mine is Eva," she said to the Mareep, cutting right to introductions. The Mareep blinked for a second before it made a happy noise.

"Well… my original name is Shampa, but I like the name 'Sasha' better as a nickname!" The Mareep said excitedly.

"Oh… really?" Eva said, impressed by the Pokemon's enthusiasm. "Well nice to meet you Sasha. I'm guessing that since you're here you want to go on an adventure."

"Yep! I've always wanted to find a human partner and go on a journey with him… or her! I don't mind which!" The Mareep bounced twice while saying that and a small spark of electricity crackled along its fur.

"Well I like your energy, Sasha. You know that there will be dangerous battles though, right?" Eva asked. She always presented that question to each Pokemon. She felt like they didn't actually understand what was going to happen on journeys. She always felt it was necessary to warn them, especially since she was unsure of her ability to direct them in battle.

"Yeah! I'll fight 'em, and I'll win too!" Sasha said, trying to sound more serious but with slivers of joy escaping through the tone pitches in her voice. "I'll be like 'Haaa!'" she started to crackle electric sparks all across her body. "And that'll take them out!"

"Well you seem very confident, Sasha!" Eva said, giggling. She was beginning to like this Pokemon. She had a long way to go, but Sasha seemed earnest and determined. "Well, if you wouldn't mind, maybe you'd like to be my partner."

"Oh! Can I!? Can I!? CAN I!?" Sasha began to bounce again and was releasing more small electric sparks from her cloud-like fur.

"Yep, we can team up right now!"

"Let's do it! Gogogogo!" Eva laughed again.

"Professor, I think my partner and I have found each other."

(Perspective Changes Here.)

"Can we get more?" Hellfyre asked, his mouth half full. They had decided to have their me at a restaurant called _Georgie's_ since it specialized in the meat it served. Hellfyre was a meat-eater to his core, and Dave was rather impressed with the food as well.

"Actually, I think this is enough for now, Hellfyre," Dave said, feeling the way Hellfyre's face suddenly looked. "We have to save our money and we spent a lot more than we should have." He shoved his fourth empty plate aside and looked Hellfyre's cleared third dish. "it was good though."

"That was better than good. This made the stuff they were serving on the cruise seem like crap." Hellfyre began making exaggerated motions.

"Calm down, Hellfyre you're making a scene," Dave said quietly, aware that eyes were beginning to turn toward their table. It didn't help that Hellfyre had covered half the table with meat juices and bits of steak. Dave began to feel increasingly uneasy.

"C'mon, what's the problem? We need to enjoy ourselves. It isn't like she's gonn-" Dave slapped his hand over Hellfyre's mouth, muffling most of the rest of his sentence.

"Shut up!" Dave whispered. He was shaking, not enough for people to see, but enough that Hellfyre noticed it. Dave could see the alarm in his face. _What is this feeling?_ He felt like icy claws were reaching up his throat and closing, cutting off his flow of air. _I'm not supposed to feel like this anymore. It's over!_

"Excuse me, sir?" a voice said, startling Dave out of his panic. The waiter was giving them a peculiar look, as if he had just seen some sort of bizarre tribal mating dance. "Your ticket," he said with disdain, seeing the mess that Hellfyre had created.

"Uh… thank you, I appreciate your kindness," Dave said, half talking, half mumbling.

"It's my job," The waiter said as he moved to another table and by his tone, Dave knew he meant that in an insulting way. His fingers closed around the piece of paper that the waiter had placed on the edge of the table. As he lifted the check into the air, another slip of paper fluttered onto the tabletop. Picking it up in his other hand, Dave examined the paper as if a bomb was attached to it. He flipped the folded scrap open and saw _"You're head start is up!"_

"What's say?" Hellfyre asked. Dave didn't respond. He extended his arm and Hellfyre crawled up it, finding his comfortable position Dave's backpack. Dave dropped a small assortment of bills on the table, not checking how much he actually paid. _Just…_ He stood up from,, the table. _Just stay…_ He walked over towards the entrance to the restaurant. He could feel eyes on him. Were any friendly? Could everyone be an enemy? Which one of them could it have been? Dave's hand closed around the handle of the entrance. _Just stay calm_. He stepped out. He could feel eyes on hims till. He was being watched. _They're all watching me! They're all in on it! Stay Calm…. Stay Calm Stay Ca-_ Dave bolted, charging through the streets at a dead shrimp, not caring who he hit, even shoving people over if they seemed threatening enough to him. He passed by a large, modern looking building. The doors opened and a young man stepped out. Dave threw out his hand and shoved him brutally aside, away from his path. _Gotta get away! Can't let her find me!_

(Perspective Changes Here.)

"Wha-argh!" Seta hit the ground with a thud. He saw a couple of flashing lights and colors for a few brief seconds. _What was that? _All he could remember was something black and orange shoving by him before he fell.

"Get up!" came a slightly melodic, but scolding voice. Seta blinked and saw something white and green, but his sight was fuzzy and he realized his glasses had been knocked off. He reached on the floor around him until his hands took hold of his silver-trimmed glasses and he put them on his face. "I said Get up!" said a Ralts, standing over him with her hands on her hips.

"Eos, cut me a break!" Seta said.

"No! We just started and already you're an embarrassment!" Eos yelled. Seta smiled, slightly exasperated. However, he didn't sense any actual scorn or anger behind the words his new partner was yelling at him. He let a small smile cross his lips before righting himself back on his feet.

Eos, Seta mused, wasn't very shy. They had met fifteen minutes before inside the lab's Orientation enter. They had been about to leave when the dark-clad figure had barreled them over. Eos, despite having just met him, was obviously very outspoken about what she thought. She seemed like the type to make every situation dramatic.

"Where do you think he was going?" Seta asked his much shorter partner.

"Do you really have time to waste thinking about it?" Eos said.

"No, probably not. Just curious," Seta said, Eos's biting comments seeming to not faze him in the slightest. "We should probably get something to eat right about now, shouldn't we? It's almost two. He was checking his cell phone as he said this.

"Yes, we'll find a place that serves Spicy food," Eos said, starting to walk off into the street.

"You like Spicy food?" Seta asked, following her.

"It's the only thing any living thing _should_ like," Ralts said.

"Is that so? What if I want to go someplace where I can get a cake?"

"Is it a spicy cake?"

"No, it's a sweet one."

"Then too bad." Ralts was speaking with an air of indignation, as if Seta's preference of other foods was somehow an insult.

"Too cruel," Seta said with a friendly smile on his face.

"Don't give me that look!" Eos said, looking back at him, but didn't make any more remarks afterwards.

(Perspective Changes Here.)

It was dark. A familiar darkness was enveloping him. Dave was completely frozen in fear. _No!_ the smell of blood, urine, and sweat hit his nostrils, causing him to flinch. _I can't be back! How long was I out?_

"Wa-… p… ve!" there was an odd noise. Dave looked around frantically for the source for the source. Something in him told him that the voice was the only thing he had. There was a crash in an adjacent room and a dread like ice flooded through Dave's veins. He started to struggle but found himself bound to the wall.

"Wak…. Dave!" The familiar voice again. The crashing grew closer. Dave began to grow short of breath. _This is it!? This was all I could do!? _The door opened and a woman's silhouette was visible, features obscured by the shadows created from the bright light behind her. Dave began to scream.

"How about we give you another one?" The woman said, brandishing what looked like a broken bottle.

"Wake the hell up, Dave!" a burning sensation engulfed Dave's hand.

Dave came awake with a jolt, shooting up into a sitting position. His hand burned as if it were on fire. He checked his right hand and saw the skin on the palm had been burned black. "Did it work?" said the familiar voice. He turned to see Hellfyre looking at him with wide, fearful eyes.

"Did what work?" Dave asked, struggling not to keep his voice steady.

"You were passed out," Hellfyre began. "And then you started to look like you were in pain, so I started calling to wake you up, but you wouldn't. Then you started screaming so I burnt your hand with my tail fire." It took Dave several seconds to process what Hellfyre had said when he finished speaking. The nightmare was still fresh on his mind.

"Thanks," he said finally. "I think you did the best thing.

"What were you dreaming about?" Hellfyre asked, a flash of pride showing on his face that was quickly replaced by worry.

"You know what I was dreaming about," Dave said and a long silence passed between them. Dave glanced over and saw a red rose on top of a scrap of paper. "What's that? He asked.

"I don't know," Hellfyre said, turning to look. "When you fell I ended up hitting my head and passed out for a bit too. When I woke up, it was there. There's some writing on it, but you know I can't read." Dave reached over and grabbed the scrap of paper and the rose in his left hand. He instantly realized that the rose was fake. The stem was unnaturally thick and felt like plastic.

Taking the bud of the rose in his hand, he pulled and the flower and steam came apart without much effort. Something fell out of the hidden container and onto his lap. He picked it up and examined it closely. It was a syringe with a cap on the needle. The sides were unmarked and lacked any indication of how much of the substance was in the syringe. Not for medical purposes then. Looking closely, he saw a yellow fluid inside the hidden needle. He wasn't sure, but whatever was inside looked like it was… _glowing_?

"What is it?" Hellfyre asked, coming closer and sniffing in the needle's direction.

"A needle full of something. I don't know what, though." Dave said. He checked the scrap of paper and saw red words written in elegant handwriting, standing out against the white of the paper.

_I see your pain and for it I give you a gift. Use it when you are in dire need of the strength to cast off your oppressors. Soon we shall meet again._

"That's an odd thing to say," Hellfyre said.

"Yeah… it's rather… cryptic," Dave agreed, his voice falling into a mumble. "But it's as if she knew." Dave examined the syringe in silence. He couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding, as if the substance was somehow malignant. However, some part of him whispered in argument. "I think… I'll hang on to this." He shoved the safely capped needle into his pocket.

"Y-You sure?" Hellfyre asked, uncertainty in his voice. "I don't like it…. It's strange."

"I know… but I'm keeping it," Dave said, his voice tipped with authority.

"O-Ok," Hellfyre said, looking down. Dave felt a twang of guilt. Hellfyre was only looking out for him.

"I'll see if I can find out more about what this is, and if I find out anything bad about this stuff, then I'll toss it, ok?" Hellfyre seemed to brighten up, if only a little.

"Ok!" He yelled enthusiastically. Dave breathed an inner sigh of relief. He couldn't let Hellfyre be in a down mood for too long. The Salamander Pokemon had already done so much for him. It wasn't right to see him depressed. "What about your hand?" Dave looked at his hand and it suddenly hit him that he had a burn that could get infected very easily.

Dave dropped the paper and rose and grabbed his worn backpack. Hellfyre jumped and scurried up his leg just in time before Dave began to stride quickly out of the alley they were in. Dave immediately found himself overwhelmed by the crowds of people commuting to and from lunch breaks. He was jostled by several taller men in black business suits and almost fell over. He stumbled backwards into an information console and stopped, catching his breath before trying again.

This time he managed to walk with the flow of people. He couldn't explain why but he felt more comfortable at that moment than his entire time at Diluculum City. He felt faceless and insignificant amongst the dozens of people around him and that was the way he preferred to be.

After a short while of being moved aimlessly by the flows of people, Dave spotted a Supermarket. He quickly star ted ot make his way towards it by walking at a diagonal pace. It took a matter of seconds for him to step out from the crowd and onto the curb. Glancing up at the neon blue sign that said _Mart_ in bold modern letters, Dave felt something strange. Something he hadn't thought he would feel in a while. He could almost swear he felt kind of _normal_. He shook the feeling away. He had already lost enough time passed out in the alley.

A blast of cool air conditioning hit him in the face that was a relief to the heat of the sun and Charmander's hot body heat on his back and neck. Stepping inside, he was amazed at the amount of items for sale.

"Wow," Hellfyre said, echoing out loud the way Dave felt about what he was seeing. Rows upon rows of labeled isles that each seemed to have some sort of specific type of food or supplies.

"I never thought that," Dave began, "There could be so much after… after _that_."

"Yeah, it's kind of a…. bittersweet thing, right?" Hellfyre asked. Dave knew that Hellfyre liked to use human expressions whenever possible, but often didn't understand their meaning.

"…_There is never enough for rotten bastards like you!" _The voice echoed in Dave's head. "It looks like there's plenty," He mused to himself and then said to Hellfyre. "You're using it right Hellfyre, and yeah, it is." Dave wandered over to a sign that had the word _Restroom_ printed in bold fluorescent light. "These places are really bright,"

"It kind of hurts my eyes," Hellfyre said.

"I might start getting a headache soon," Dave replied. He found a door with the word "Men's" written on it. Setting Charmander on a bench outside the restroom, Dave walked inside, immediately shocked by the fact that there was a brown paste smeared all over the opposite wall, closely followed by a strong and familiar odor. Dave resisted the urge to gag. He quickly ran over to the bathroom sink, turning on the cold water and running it over his arm, breathing through his mouth in an attempt to ward of the stench. The cold water had an immediate effect and Dave could feel the pain of his burn becoming less intense as the icy water rushed over it.

After keeping the burn under water for several minutes, he left the restroom, breathing deeply once outside in order to get as much fresh, clean air as possible. He felt Hellfyre crawling up his back.

"It stinks in there," he heard the Salamander Pokemon say.

"Yeah, maybe I should tell one of the employees about it," Dave replied.

"Maybe, but you won't."

"Yeah." There was a moment of silence as something unspoken passed between the two. "Let's get some supplies for the trip."

"That's smart," Hellfyre said. There was an awkward tension in the air around them.

Prowling the isles, Dave had to force himself from snatching everything off the shelves just to feel the packaging and read the information. _Exactly how many options can people choose from just to eat? I don't want to even think about all this other stuff? What the hell is an mp3?_

It took Dave well over teen minutes to recognize that the hanging overhead signs also had indicators that listed what type of items were in each isle. Finding an isle that had 'Medical Supplies' ,complete with a plus sign icon, written overhead, Dave scrambled for the medium sized first aid kit.

"100 band-aids, antiseptic, cotton wads, gauze pads,…" Dave began, reading off a list of contents written on the cover of the box, "tweezers, splint, this is a lot, adhesive tape, and burn relief gel! We'll take this!"

"Don't forget the potions," Hellfyre said.

"Right, I know," Dave mumbled. He didn't, but the fact that he didn't resonated in him. _How could I have forgotten to get something for Hellfyre's well-being? Idiot!_

"Yeah, well, I only remembered 'cus I saw them over there," Hellfyre said, pointing towards a nearby shelf loaded with potions of every kind. It was a lie. Hellfyre had remembered the potions perfectly well. He was just trying to make Dave feel better.

"Right," Dave shuffled over to the shelf Hellfyre had showed him. "Well… we shouldn't need the Hyper Potions yet, you haven't progressed to that stage yet, but I'll get one just in case. But I suppose we'll stick with the regular Potions with some Super Potions." He snatched a dozen potions off of the rack along with several super potions. Lastly, he took one of the pink-colored Hyper Potions. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

Several hours later, Dave was laden with several baskets full of an assortment of survival items for both humans and Pokemon. It was far more than what was necessary for the average trip between Diluculum and the next town. "Since we might have to skip the next town altogether to keep a lead." Dave had trembled when he said it, dull pain emanating down his front from the memory.

"I guess so," Hellfyre had responded. Dave had just finished ringing his items up at the checkout machine. He was slightly off put by the price of everything. _It's worth it. It's all worth it!_ The last item he rang was a new backpack, black with double straps to go around his waist and diagonally down his chest. He finished paying and stuffed the items in his bag hastily, but not without a semblance of order as he divided items to different pockets based on what they did. Finishing, he used several nylon cords to attack a black sleeping bag to the bottom of the backpack. The last thing he had was a red and white pokeball.

"Ready?" he asked his companion.

"Yeah, It'll be fine." Dave could tell Hellfyre was terrified of being inside what looked like an impossibly small orb, whether he could break free at any time or not. The pokeball was more for his protection from things like rain instead of containment like they had originally been designed for. Dave tapped the ball against Hellfyre's forehead. Hellfyre was absorbed into a red energy and vanished. A silence followed by a beep transpired, where Hellfyre immediately reappeared on Dave's shoulder. "That did it, right?"

"Yeah, you're all set."

"Good. Never again!" Hellfyre said, obviously 'traumatized' by the experience. Dave made a mental note to not put Hellfyre into a pokeball unless it was life or death. He snapped the ball to a slot on the waist strap of his backpack.

"We should go then," Dave said. "To Morgan's Valley. We don't have a lot of time." The pain was back.

"Yeah, let's hurry!" Hellfyre said, not from fear but from excitement. Dave felt a pang of jealousy. Hellfyre was younger and while it left him more impressionable to outside forces, he also had the focus of a cracked lens on a photographic device. He took two steps towards the door and stopped, gazing intently at the ground.

"You know," he said, "You can always go now. I won't stop you… If you left, you would be safe from…" he trailed off and silence passed between the two once again.

"You're stupid," The Salamander Pokemon said at last. "Let's go." Dave felt relief wash through him. He couldn't do this alone. By himself he was..;. he wasn't anything.

"Thanks, and yeah, let's go," Dave said, face nonchalant. He strode over to the door and they slid open. He came face to face with a purple-haired girl, several inches shorter than him. He looked down and saw that she had a Mareep in tow as well. _Another trainer?_ He stepped aside and she gave him a look, seemingly gazing into him. Recognition welled inside of him. From where he didn't know. She finally looked away and walked into the store.

(Perspective Changes Here.)

"C'mon Sasha!" she said to the sheep Pokemon that had been following her. It had also stopped to stare at Dave and Hellfyre, but heeded the girl's call. _That was strange._ Dave stood there for another minute, watching the girl before stepping out onto the street and into the moving crowds

"Ya think we'll see that guy again?" Sasha asked, catching up with Eva.

"I don't know, maybe," Eva responded. "Trainers aren't really that common, so he'll stand out. Do you want to see those two again?"

"No, I just thought they were weird" The sheep Pokemon replied innocently.. Eva giggled.

"Maybe, that look he gave me was kind of strange," she conceded. "But, I don't know. There was something about that guy that seemed," she paused, trying to come up with the words. "like he and I had something." She wasn't going to mention that the first thing she wanted to when she was him was give him a hug. It was kind of creepy. "Anyways, we should get some stuff for our trip."

"Ooh! Like what!?" The idea of shopping clearly excited Sasha. _But everything seems to excite Sasha. Can I really ask her to battle?_

"Like some food and potions. We'll probably get some blankets and a sleeping bag as well as a couple of extra Pokeballs so that if we meet any new friends, we can keep them safe if they get hurt.

"Ok!" Sasha began bounding away across the tiled linoleum floor, light and dark blue crisscrossed by a sky blue pattern. The shelves, she noted were also blue, having a dark blue fram and light blue shelves, much like the floor. The only thing that seemed to break the blue pattern was a glass counter by the register (also blue). She managed to find her way by looking at the overhead signs next to the isles that were shockingly blue as well.

She passed her gaze over the shelves, a little surprised by how many different items there were. Bottles were filled with pink, green, yellow, blue, and a lot more. She snatched several of the purple filled potion bottles, as well as some of the yellow antidotes and pink awakenings. _It should be enough_. She thought. _At least for now, I hope_.

Sasha appeared to be enjoying herself by looking at all the colorful items there were. It looked like she was so excited that sparks were jumping all throughout her fur. _Probably not a good idea to pet her right about now,_ Eva noted. She swept through the aisles, already having a good idea of what she wanted and where to find it.

She picked up a dark green sleeping bag. Some trail mix, instant ramen, bottles of water, and a small first-aid kit, along with a few other choice essentials before walking back towards the front of the store and the register.

As she turned the corner, she collided with what felt like a solid wall made out of fabric. She fell backwards, landing on her back and hitting her head on the floor. Bright lights soared across her vision and a throbbing pain erupted on the back of her head. _Not my day, is it? _Blinking, the bright lights vanished and a person standing over her came into focus and she came face to face with a silver-headed teen with a mild bowl cut.

Eva felt the heat rush to her cheeks. _He's gorgeous._ She felt completely enthralled gazing into his silver-eyes that perfectly matched his hair. She had always thought a bowl-cut would look stupid but he seemed to pull it off flawlessly. Not to mention the glasses made him look deep and sophisticated. He looked like the type of person that could read people quite easily and his friendliness radiated off of him like an overpowering aura.

"Are you okay?" He said. It was the third time he'd asked, she realized.

"Uh… oh! Yeah! Yeah!" She yelled out, her voice cracking in embarrassment. Her hand flew up as if to cover the noise.

"Alright, are you sure?" He asked.

"She said she's fine, so let's go," a smaller, higher-pitched voice yelled. "We're wasting time standing around here when we could be- stop that!" Eva glanced downward and saw a Ralts, stumbling back from Sasha, who was looking at the psychic type with a stare that could pierce the heavens with its intensity. "Staring is completely obnoxious and annoying, you… cloud!"

"Wanna be friends?" Sasha replied, oblivious to the insult, if it could be called that.

"Wa- No!" Ralts said. "Seta, let's go. These two are creeping me out."

"Ok, well, if you're all right then…"

"Eva!" she gasped. _So Seta is his name_.

"Well, I'm glad you aren't hurt Eva. Maybe if we meet up somewhere along our trips we can test each other." Seta smiled.

"Test? Oh, you mean like a battle!" Eva felt her cheeks burning with shame. _I'm making an idiot out of myself. "_Sure! Sure! We could try it. I… uh… I'm looking forward to it." Another surge of heat. She lifted herself off the ground hastily, finding that she had to look up to meet Seta's eyes. _About 4 inches taller_.

"Ok then. It's a plan. See you later." He strode off, confidence in every step. _I wish I was that confident_. His Ralts gave them one last arrogant look before following. Eva felt his pulse return to normal.

"They were nice!" Sasha said, breaking the silence.

"That Ralts wasn't," Eva said, her ability to speak normally returning.

"No," Sasha said. Eva waited for her partner to explain why but Sasha seemed ot think that it was fairly obvious. _I don't really feel like asking her. She'll probably say something to confuse me even more._

Ten minutes later she had finished purchasing her items and was trying to figure out how to attack her sleeping bag. _Oh wait. That other guy with the Charmander used those nylon cords_. She quickly asked the cashier for some and received them free of charge for having such a pretty face, something that caused Eva to cringe on the inside. It was well past three by that time she finally left the store.. _I should set off today, but I guess I won't be getting to far._ It didn't matter to her. This was her chance to see the world and forge some bonds. At least that's what they told her. Her apprehension seemed to have vanished for the time being and she showed one of her biggest smiles. _Today's actually been pretty good. And so will tomorrow._

(Perspective Changes Here.)

"Those two were idiots!" Eos exclaimed.

"Give them a chance. It was just an accident," Seta said, taking a grey sleeping bag from the shelf before heading towards an adjacent isle.

"That girl acted like she hadn't spoken to another human being before she talked to you."

"Maybe she was just embarrassed for running into me."

"And that Mareep!" the Ralts was close to yelling. Some other people in the aisle began to stare. Whether they could understand or not, Eos was still making a huge racket.

"What was it doing, exactly?" He took some Potions from the shelf. Before moving on again.

"It was staring at me!"

"Staring at you… I see," Some instant ramen and jerky along with canned foods.

"You didn't see! That was the problem. You were too busy staring at her royal ditzyness to notice."

"Her royal ditzyness?"

"The purple girl!"

"Oh, the trainer," Seta snatched some small berry boxes, making sure to pick up some extra Cheri Berries for Eos.

"Yeah, if you weren't too busy looking like the third idiot of the musketeers you would have seen that creepy stare. And then it has the nerve to ask to be my friend!?"

"It was just being nice," Seta took a small first aid kit.

"I don't care. It was rude! Why did you promise to see that girl again?"

"Why not, we're both trainers. It might be nice to battle her one day."

"Don't forget that you have to consult with me before you start making plans for what I'm going to do!"

"You want to fight that Mareep, don't you!" Seta was trying to suppress a chuckle.

"Yes!" Eos said after a pause.

"Then what's the problem!"

"It's because you went an-" Eos suddenly cut short. Seta glanced at her, somewhat surprised by her sudden silence. Eos was staring at something with rapt attention. He followed her gaze and spotted a middle-aged man with black hair and a business suit Talking on the phone. It looked like he was yelling. As they slowly grew closer.

The man had a basket full of what looked like cabbage under one arm. "I don't care about the cost. We have plenty of money. Just make sure that it looks like it was all them! You know we have as much as we need in order to-" He looked up, eyes locking with Seta's as the teenager passed. The hairs on the back of Seta's neck stood up and the middle-aged man smiled. Cold rushed up Seta's spine. Then the moment passed.

The two partners reached the end of the hallway and Seta's sense of temperature returned to normal.

"I don't want to meet that guy again." Eos muttered.

"I think I know why," Seta agreed.

"He radiated something awful off of him."

"I thought you couldn't sense people like that very well."

"That's how bad he was." A tense silence filled the air. "Let's just go." Seta purchased the items he had selected at the register. The cashier gave him a spiteful look as he stepped out onto the street. And face to face with a tall, brunette woman wearing glasses. She had a blue dress shirt and black pants accompanied by a brown trench coat. She held him with a fierce stare, her blue eyes glimmering in the reflected sunlight.

"It's no use," she said to no one in particular. "You won't break." She continued down the street, leaving Seta standing there, slightly confused.

"Don't worry, if she tried anything I would have taken her down," Eos said. She attempted to perform a kick, but due to the night-gown part of her, fell backwards instead. Seta smiled, amused.

"You suck."


End file.
